From Oxford English Dictionary: debrief, v. : to obtain information from (a person) on the completion of a mission or after a journey. Usu. pass. So debriefing vbl. n.

My new posterous gets the source debriefing title because that is one of the key activities in reflective practitioner's life. I am meticulous of collecting, archiving, processing, and using information in all ways appropriate and inappropriate. I am also a researcher-crossed-with-HSP-learner.

The big lesson I have learned about this kind of existence where passion to hoard product of human thought is forever in conflict with the task to make sense of some of the collected data is: I need to debrief.

I need to debrief often.

Debriefing one’s own info-journey without using a prefabricated template questionnaire is not something I particularly like, honestly.

This especially applies to immediate debriefing after meetings, conferences, and seminars. Yes, when I escape that emotionally heavy, sensory-overloaded, and waterfalling in information environment, debriefing is the first thing I want to do 'tomorrow'!

That is a wrong attitude.

I have learned the hard way how heavy becomes the mental weight, and volume of paper of notes unbriefed. I doubt if even the most rigorous productivity schedule applied to reflective practitioner's life can be successful without this element.

So, Heartfelt Welcome! I would also love to receive guest posts in the future, so if you have thoughts on academic, or information, life catharsis (and all other variants) of debriefing, leave a comment or email me.

How do You debrief?